Sony PMW-200

Overview

A Look at Sony’s PMW-200

Joining Sony’s series of professional camcorders is the PMW-200. The new camera boasts high-quality image, lightweight form-factor and a very compact body, which makes it just perfect for both students and professional video enthusiasts. It is equipped with three 1/2-inch Full HD Exmor CMOS sensors (at 1920×1080), a configuration which supports TV1 high resolution, F11 sensitivity, low 56db noise and featuring a wide dynamic range.

The PMW-200 also comes with dual ExpressCardSxS slots for memory cards, and supports 50 Mbps MPEG HD422 recording at up to four hours. It also support FAT and UDF format modes, and can be conveniently switched between PAL, NTSC and NTSC(J). Other features include Slow/Quick motion playback, magnification, slow shutter, focus, picture cache recording and shutter angle settings. And when it comes to audio recording, the camera features four channel audio, as well as composite/HD-Y outputs, HDMI, and HD/SDI. It has a USB port, 6 Gamma settings, and 4 HyperGamma settings too.

Here’s the complete specs:
[list type=”check”]

Two Full HD Exmor 3CMOS sensors

50 Mbps MPEG HD422 recording under UDF mode as MXF files

Switchable NTSC/PAL area (multi-region support)

HD/SD-SDI, HDMI, and composite/HD-Y output

SD recording and playback

14x fixed zoom lens (switchable between servo/manual)

Two slots for ExpressCardSxS memory card

3.5″ color LCD display (16:9 aspect ratio)

Up to 4 hours or 50 Mbps MPEG HD422 recording time

UDF or FAT file format mode shooting

Energy efficient

Compact and lightweight design

Focus Magnification

Shutter Angle Settings

Picture Cache Recording capability

Slow and Quick motion capability

High-quality 4-channel audio recording

USB interface (to connect camcorder when used as a card reader)

6 Standard Gamma settings and 4 HyperGamma settings

[/list]

Pros

To translate that all up, Sony’s PMW-200 can get a five star for great picture quality, excellent range/performance, quality image stabilization, large and clear LCD display, and good low light performance. It is a solid camcorder for lightweight field use; it is so much better than your average camera.

Cons

Like many other camcorders out there, this workhorse is of course without its cons. Some users noted limited zoom options, which can be a serious drawback if you are recording wildlife or events, in which you are seated far from the stage or the center of activity. Then there’s also the minor issue in autofocus. In some cases, the camera loses autofocus and contrast in fast action, giving you blurry scene and making you miss out on some important, capture-worthy moments. And on the less technical side, the model’s grip is entirely plastic which has the potential to break under the weight while filming—a rather inconvenience experience if this occurs in big events.

Conclusion

Despite some technical drawbacks, Sony’s PMW-200 is overall one of the best camcorders available out there for high-definition shooting, guaranteeing you of crisp and clear pictures with life-like quality. It is ideal for documentaries, wedding, corporate events, travel videos and more. It works perfectly well under low lighting conditions, enabling you to capture quality videos even under difficult shooting environment.